I agree about weather but a good weather course might be as long as the whole
"safety" course and for the purposes of a boater it would have to be tailored
for the region you boat in. Watching the weather in Md was not the same as
watching weather here in Florida.
The usual "safety" course is a cookie cutter course that simply blows through
basics. I really think that should just be one step in boater education and you
should also be taking a specific course for the type of boat you plan on using
and the general areas you boat in. A guy on a small lake or river will have
different hazards and experiences than a guy who regularly runs offshore. There
are certainly a lot different operating considerations between a jet ski and a
30' cruiser, yet those people will all still be sitting in the same class.